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Biology and Ecology of Squalus Blainville (Risso, 1827) from the Eastern Mediterranean

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Abstract

The objective of this study is to contribute to the knowledge gap on the biology of the longnose spurdog, Squalus blainville (Risso, 1827), that has very scarce information in the Levantine Sea, eastern Mediterranean Sea. This study utilized opportunistic sampling methods to fill information gaps without causing more damage or stress to a threatened species. Moreover, it provides information on longnose spurdog’s biological and ecological features from by-catch individuals. In this regard, a total of 184 individuals, 99 females and 85 males, at different maturity stages were examined. Among these individuals 66 (44 females, 32 males) had prey items in their stomach and the main food source was identified as teleosts (IRI % 63.55), and cephalopods (IRI % 22.38) and crustaceans (IRI % 12.78) were identified as a secondary food group. Trophic levels were estimated as 4.28, 4.13 and 4.05, for the datasets of all, female, and male, respectively. The information produced in this study is an important base line for regional assessment or for conservation measures for the species. Besides providing information on a data deficient species, this study also shows that the opportunistic method, utilizing landed by-catch individuals, produces information for scientific purposes and can be practical and effective to assess regional status as well as develop species-specific measures in regional scale.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Author would like to thank Dr. Fethi BENGIL, SPOT-Society for the Protection of Turtles and the fishermen of Northern Cyprus for their help throughout this study. I would like to thank also Helen Sue ERONAT for English proofreading. The use of marine animals was approved by permitting authority of North Cyprus with permit reference number HYD.0.00-251.06-18-E.467.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Girne American University, Marine School, Cyprus, University Drive, 99428 Karmi Campus, PO Box 5, Karaoglanoglu, Girne, TRNC via, Turkey

    Elizabeth Grace Tunka Bengil

  2. Mediterranean Conservation Society, Kazımdirik Mah. Ankara Cad. Yanyolu Folkart Time 1 Blok No: 807, PO Box 35100, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

    Elizabeth Grace Tunka Bengil

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Correspondence to Elizabeth Grace Tunka Bengil.

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Bengil, E.G.T. Biology and Ecology of Squalus Blainville (Risso, 1827) from the Eastern Mediterranean. Thalassas 38, 1423–1432 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-022-00482-w

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